A knock on the door pulled Harry's wavering attention away from the horse movie he was watching with the boys. It had been a long time since he'd sat and watched anything but the news. This little story, however, was quite interesting and Harry found himself cheering for the main character.

"New toys?" Charlie asked after the second knock.

"I don't know, mate," Harry replied, ruffling the boy's hair. "Wait here and I'll find out." The little boy shook his head and hopped off the couch, Teddy following, but waiting to pause the movie first.

Harry moved to the door flanked by Teddy and Charlie. He requested the password and then looked through the peephole, his chest clenching at who he saw. Stepping back to open the door, he took Charlie by the hand to move him out of the way.

"Ruth," he said. It took him twice to get the name out. "Come in."

Teddy's grip on Harry's hand tightened and Charlie flattened himself against his leg. Teddy tugged on his hand until he lowered himself to take the boy's whisper. "Can you ask her if she has any new trains?"

Harry smiled softly at the boy, straightening to speak with Ruth. "They would like to know if you have any toys."

Ruth's eyes flashed a hidden look but she replied kindly, "No, sorry."

The boys' eyes fell. Harry suggested, "Why don't you go wake Mommy up from her nap?"

"Okay!" Teddy and Charlie answered in unison, running off to the bedroom. Poor Sarah.

"Have a seat, Ruth." Harry gestured at the table and chairs. He kept his hands busy to hide their shaking, moving into the kitchen to avoid making eye contact with Ruth. "Would like some tea?"

"No, thank you. Harry, come and sit. I need to speak with you." Her voice was the recently known Ruth's, familiar and yet lacking in any of the enthusiasm or warmth that he had become accustomed to before the proposal. Harry sighed and sat across from her.

"How are you?" she asked, concern in her eyes.

Avoiding her gaze, he replied ruefully, "Fine. A bit battered but that's nothing new," not fully certain himself to which part of his anatomy he was referring, his chest or his heart within.

"What did you think you were doing?" she asked, a definite rebuke in her voice.

"I couldn't let the villains hurt the little boys," Harry responded softly and then he met her gaze and the lightness returned, much to his amazement. If I don't have to think of her as my only chance at love, lost through the choices she's forced me to make, I don't have to carry all the pain.

She hmphed at him, breaking his train of thought. "I've come to tell you that the enquiry begins tomorrow. I've contacted your lawyer and provided him with the necessary documents. You will be retrieved in the morning and taken to Whitehall." Her voice was cold and clinical. She began to stand and then sat abruptly. "Why did you do it, Harry? How am I meant to bear this?" Her voice was warming to anger now.

Harry knew she wasn't referring to the museum incident but to the Lucas/Albany decision. "I've seen enough death, Ruth. Yours would have been one too many."

"No one will thank you for this," she warned.

The tightness was back in his chest and he had trouble breathing. The spite and disappointment in her eyes lanced through his belly. He sat forward, clenching and unclenching his fists until he felt a little tap on his leg. He looked down to see Teddy at his side.

"Harry, can you play 'Go Fish' with me after she goes?" Teddy asked quietly and suddenly a weight lifted from his chest. He realized that here was someone who didn't hate or despise him. And Charlie, Charlie was quite fond of him. And Sarah?

Sarah rushed out of the bedroom. "Sorry, Harry. He escaped." She reached for Teddy's hand.

"It's all right," he reassured her and turning back to the boy, he replied, "Yes, Teddy, I'll play with you after Ruth leaves. Now, go on back with Mommy."

"Okay," the boy replied, moving to take his mother's hand and return to the bedroom. Harry soon heard the sound of the bed bumping against the wall, likely from the boys jumping. Laughter filtered out.

Harry turned back. "Ruth. It was my choice to make and I made it. It's done. I can't undo it now."

She slapped her hands on the table in obvious frustration. "I'll be called to testify."

"I assumed as much. It doesn't seem to me you'll have any difficulty convincing them that there was nothing between us; that I acted on my own without your consent."

She stood abruptly. "Good-bye Harry."

"Ruth." He called her back from the door. She turned and glared at him, perhaps expecting some sort of apology. "Could you ask our minders to send some new toys, trains preferably—oh, and coffee?"

She watched him, surprise widening her eyes, and then she nodded thoughtfully.